Rodgers Pushing Van Pelt for Coordinator Job; Could Be in Buffalo

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers thinks pretty highly of quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt. So much so that he’s been pushing for him to get an offensive coordinator job this week.

“He cares about it,” Rodgers said. “The guys puts a lot of work into it. He’s a great coach. There’s no reason why his name shouldn’t be about there for coordinator spots right now.”

At first glance, it seems the possibility — at least in the immediate future — is minimal for Van Pelt, who has been Rodgers’ coach since 2014 and spent two more seasons coaching the Packers’ running backs. While the Packers are still playing, coordinator vacancies have been filling up around the league.

The Chargers, Broncos and Jaguars have already tabbed their men. That leaves the Rams, 49ers and Bills with openings. The 49ers haven’t officially hired their coach, but will reportedly bring on Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The Rams hired Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay as their coach. You would think both of those situations will result in the head coach calling the plays.

That leaves Buffalo, which hired Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. That’s also where there’s the most smoke. Van Pelt actually played with the Bills.

Hearing the Bills may be inclined to pursue Alex Van Pelt for their OC opening pending outcome of Packers season. Has ties to them

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 18, 2017

There’s one other potential problem for Van Pelt, though.

His contract. As long as he’s under contract with the Packers, they do not have to let him interview elsewhere. They’ve blocked interviews time and again with assistant coaches, so this would be nothing new.

In fact, Giants coach Ben McAdoo actually let his contract expire when he was the Packers’ quarterbacks coach because he felt it would be the only way he’d get to interview for a coordinator job. He then became the Giants’ offensive coordinator before being named head coach.

So if Van Pelt’s contract doesn’t expire after this season (and we don’t know anything about assistant coaches’ contracts), he may not even get the chance to talk to the Bills.